House Resolution 126 - Introduced

PAG LIN





  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ___
  1  2    BY  ALONS, HUTTER, FREVERT, FREEMAN, PETTENGILL,
  1  3       WENDT, ARNOLD, DE BOEF, JACOBY, KURTENBACH,
  1  4       CARROLL, WATTS, CHAMBERS, D. OLSON, LUKAN,
  1  5      HOFFMAN, EICHHORN, HUSEMAN, SANDS, SODERBERG,
  1  6             WILDERDYKE, TJEPKES, and HEATON
  1  7 A Resolution to honor the service of the 185th Air
  1  8    Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard.
  1  9    WHEREAS, the Iowa Air National Guard located in
  1 10 America's heartland at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux
  1 11 City, Iowa, housed the 185th Fighter Wing which was
  1 12 originally established in December 1946 as the 174th
  1 13 Fighter Squadron; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, the unit originally was equipped with P=51
  1 15 Mustangs and by 1991 was flying the famous F=16
  1 16 fighter; and
  1 17    WHEREAS, in 2003, the 185th Fighter Wing was
  1 18 redesignated the 185th Air Refueling Wing ("ARW"),
  1 19 Iowa Air National Guard, flying KC=135E refueling
  1 20 tankers; and
  1 21    WHEREAS, that redesignation, first announced in
  1 22 2001, required the 185th to completely redesign its
  1 23 facilities and design the unit's own training program,
  1 24 recruit its own instructors, and, in many cases,
  1 25 repair salvaged equipment, all while still fulfilling
  1 26 its current mission of flying F=16 aircraft until
  1 27 December 2002; and
  1 28    WHEREAS, by the fall of 2004, the 185th was flying
  1 29 KC=135E tankers out of Geilenkirchen, Germany,
  1 30 supporting NATO AWACS refueling missions; and
  2  1    WHEREAS, in its 50=year history the 185th has
  2  2 served the United States of America with distinction
  2  3 and has garnered numerous awards, including the Air
  2  4 Force Association's Outstanding Unit Award, 1956; the
  2  5 Spaatz Trophy, recognizing the unit as the most
  2  6 outstanding Air National Guard squadron in the nation
  2  7 in 1956; the Presidential Unit Citation and Air Force
  2  8 Outstanding Unit award during Viet Nam activation,
  2  9 1968; the Air Force Outstanding Unit award five times
  2 10 for exceptionally meritorious service, 1985, 1986,
  2 11 1987, 1989, and 1991; the Maintenance Team Award
  2 12 Gunsmoke, 1989; the Spaatz Trophy, won for a second
  2 13 time, 1990; the Air Force Association's Outstanding
  2 14 Unit Award, 1994; and the Winston P. Wilson Safety
  2 15 Award, 1994; and
  2 16    WHEREAS, the 185th Air Refueling Wing provided
  2 17 critical domestic aid during the Katrina disaster in
  2 18 2005, flying a total of 78 sorties, the most sorties
  2 19 by any KC=135 unit, with 185 members of the 185th
  2 20 supporting Katrina missions; and
  2 21    WHEREAS, the vision of the 185th Air Refueling Wing
  2 22 is to be the premier air refueling wing, ready to be
  2 23 the first wing to be called up for service; to
  2 24 preserve and enhance the value of the citizen soldier;
  2 25 to be proactive in facing the changes in technology
  2 26 and challenges of 21st Century; to reflect the
  2 27 cultural diversity of the community; and to promote a
  2 28 climate of diversity, growth, creativity, and
  2 29 teamwork; NOW THEREFORE,
  2 30    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  3  1 That the House of Representatives, on behalf of all
  3  2 Iowans, congratulates the men and women of the 185th
  3  3 Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard, and their
  3  4 commander Colonel John Janson for 50 years of
  3  5 dedicated service and thanks them for their
  3  6 selflessness and willingness to place themselves in
  3  7 harm's way to protect the United States of America.
  3  8 LSB 6485HH 81
  3  9 jr:rj/gg/14.1